In the Company of Death
by The Triskelion King
Summary: Roland reflects on his relationship with, and loss of Ajay.


Roland stared out of the helicopter at the tyrannosaur caged beneath him. When he'd arrived on the island hunting the animal was all he'd wanted. The challenge of taking down the most ferocious animal that had ever lived, to do what no human hunter had ever even had the chance to. But that didn't matter now.

When he'd arrived on the island Ajay had been with him. Ajay had been with him for so long. He could still remember the night in that Mombasa bar that he stumbled across the hunter amid a fight with a rather unpleasant group of ivory poachers. Ajay had been the first to jump to his defence. The man was unstoppable. That's how he'd always been: unstoppable.

* * *

After the fight had blown over, he and Ajay had got to talking. He remembered every moment so clearly.

"Do you often attract that sort of attention?" Ajay asked, taking the seat beside him.

"Not if I can help it," Roland said, taking a swig of gin.

"Didn't seem like you _could_ help it," Ajay said, a smile cracking on his lips.

"I've had worse from more."

"Is that so?"

"It's so."

At that point, the landlady interrupted. "He certainly has," she said, taking Roland's empty bottle from the bar. "Barely a night goes by he doesn't knock out some good-for-nothings or troublemakers."

"He starts the fights?" Ajay said, confused. He wasn't the sort to go looking for a fight - in fact, he did all he could to avoid them for the most part. It seemed bizarre to him that this man would go _looking_ for trouble, especially with such unfavourable odds.

"I only start fights with people who deserve it," Roland said, unscrewing the top of the whisky bottle.

"Is it the drink that does it?" Ajay wondered aloud.

"It's the boredom, I reckon," the landlady chimed in. "He's a hunter, you see. When he's not killing something or other, he gets restless."

This perked Ajay's attention. He himself was a hunter, and quite a good one at that. He had started when he was just a boy back in India, and by this point had managed to take down nearly every species on the subcontinent.

"I'm heading out tomorrow if you're interested," said Ajay

Roland turned to look at him. "And why exactly would I want to do that?"

"Perhaps we got off on the wrong foot. Ajay Sidhu," he introduced himself. "I'm a game hunter. Been around a bit, but I'm relatively new to the area. Thought you might be the man to show me around."

Roland stared at the bar. He didn't normally like company on his trips, but if this man was qualified enough perhaps he wouldn't be too much trouble; he might at least know to stay out of his way.

"Alright, you've got yourself a guide," Roland said. "We'll leave at dawn tomorrow, and I'm not waiting. Meet me at the end of the street and we'll head out from there. Make sure you have enough equipment and rations for a few days. We won't be getting supplies once we're out."

"What about your fee?" Ajay asked as Roland lifted himself up from the stool and headed towards the stairs. "If you're going to be my guide, surely you'll want some form of payment."

"No need," Roland called back. "Just don't get us killed."

* * *

"You're not half bad, you know," Roland said, shouldering his rifle as they walked together toward the explorer.

"Funny, I was just about to say the same about you," Ajay shot back. "Your aim is good, but you could be a little quieter." He threw their latest kill into the back of the Landrover, on top of the small pile which had accumulated throughout the day.

Roland smirked, patting Ajay on the back. "I'm glad I brought you after all, Sidhu."

"So what do you think?" Ajay said. "Am I up to the standards of a place like this?"

"Ajay, my friend," Roland smiled, "if you were the standard for a place like this I wouldn't have looked twice at you."

It was only a short drive to their camp, near a small acacia grove. It was a humble arrangement of two tents, focused around a central campfire, with a pair of metal camping stools set up on either side. Despite its unassuming nature, to the hunters there was no more welcoming sight in the dying light of the summer evening.

Ajay jumped out immediately when they arrived and headed straight for the tent. Roland hung back to unload the car. When Ajay re-emerged from the tent he was carrying a large metallic munitions box. He set it down next to one of the stools with a heavy thud.

"Something important?" Roland inquired

"You could say that." Ajay chuckled as he opened the lid to reveal three large bottles of Loch Lomond Single Malt. He lifted one and cracked the top open, pouring some into two tin cups. He handed one to Roland.

"A drink?" he offered.

"It has been a long day…" Roland smiled, taking the cup from Ajay's hand. "Well done, Ajay, well done." He took a swig of his drink.

After a few moments of relaxed silence Ajay spoke. "I guess I'm up against some stiff competition."

"What do you mean?" Roland asked.

"Well, I imagine you are out hunting with people at the top of their game all the time."

"Oh… Yes… Right." Roland forced a smile. He was embarrassed to admit it to Ajay, for a reason he couldn't quite put his finger on, but he hadn't in fact been hunting with a partner for a few years now. There were few on the continent that could keep up with him when it came to the hunt, but that wasn't the reason. He'd found that being alone was much more profitable to him. It allowed him to clear his mind and focus on one thing. It took his mind off the painful mundanity of everyday life. It give him an outlet, something to keep him going. Ajay was different, though. There was something about him that Roland found oddly endearing. Ajay had a quiet demeanour; he seemed refreshingly caring, yet assertive, and sharp witted. He was Roland's kind of person. For some reason, though, Roland found it hard to admit this.

The two sat in silence for a few minutes, Ajay swirling his drink between sips, Roland prodding at the fire with a stick. After that, Roland wished Ajay goodnight, and headed off to his tent. He didn't sleep. He couldn't stop his mind from trying comprehend how Ajay was so different from any hunter he'd met before. More than that, he was different from any person he'd ever met before.

* * *

The helicopter moved quickly, skimming across the tops of the trees, heading for the coast. Roland's rifle sat next to him on the floor. All these years later, and he was struggling to take his mind off Ajay again. Only this time it was because of the events that had taken place on that island. He removed his hat and placed it on the seat next to him. That weaselly little bastard Peter Ludlow had offered him a position at InGen. Full time. He had insisted it would be well worth it - excellent pay and plenty of perks. In Roland's eyes, nothing was worth the price he had had to pay. He thought back to what they had said. Killed in the long grass by those damned… things, those … _raptors_. He couldn't understand how Ajay would have gone in knowing they were there. He was better than that, smarter. He would have known! Roland slammed a fist into his thigh in frustration.

Ajay had been so keen to get on this expedition. It seemed to be all he wanted. Roland remembered the gleam of excitement in his eyes when he had told him about. Quite fittingly, this had happened after a bar fight, just like when they had first met.

Roland sat in disbelief. He didn't touch his drink. He found it hard to comprehend what Ajay had just told him. He'd heard the rumours of course, everyone had, but he'd never believed them.

"Living, breathing dinosaurs?" Roland asked

"That's right," Ajay grinned. "And I've got Peter Ludlow's assurances that we are allowed to hunt any species on the island."

Roland stared at him. Half his mind was still struggling to believe that he was not being led on.

"Are you sure about this, Ajay? I mean, are you sure it isn't some elaborate con?"

"No, no, no," he assured him. "I met with Ludlow personally. He assured me that this is very real. No strings attached. The money will be in cash, full sum payed before we leave."

"Ajay, Ajay." Roland chuckled. "I don't want cash." His mind was set on one particular animal. The Tyrannosaurus. The hunting community had been surprisingly well informed about the rumours surrounding the events of Isla Nublar. A legend like Robert Muldoon doesn't just vanish without a trace in some 'industrial accident' on a remote island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Although the stories differed, one thing that seemed a constant was that InGen had tyrannosaurs on that island, and Roland wanted on of them and the business end of his rifle.

"I want a chance for us to hunt a Tyrannosaur. One of those, Ajay. Can we do that?"

"A buck if you like." Ajay poured the both of them a glass of whiskey from the open bottle on the table.

Roland smiled. "Ajay, my friend. I wouldn't have it any other way."

"So you'll do it?"

"Oh, I suppose I'll have to." Roland admitted. "As if I could say no to you, Ajay."

* * *

Soon after that encounter they had departed for the island. They had known it was dangerous, known the risks. Ajay had warned him. Now he wished he had said _no_. If he could just go back in time and tell Ajay _no_ then he'd still be here, he'd still be alive. But there was no going back now. No saving him. All Roland could do now was ensure that he had no part to plan in the plans of that wretched InGen and their incompetent ass of a CEO. He sighed deeply, and leaned back in his seat. He and Ajay had been so happy together. Sure, they spent a lot of time apart. In fact they hadn't gone out on a hunt for quite some time. They were too good together, Roland though, smiling slightly. Even so, the letters they sent each other, the long distance calls where Ajay would worry about how much it was costing Roland... Those meant a lot to him.

Misty-eyed, Roland lifted his hat and placed it on his head. The island was now beginning to disappear in to the distance. It would have been easy for Roland to blame Ludlow for this whole thing, or perhaps Nick Van Owen and his team. Truth was he blamed himself, and as he saw the island disappear behind the horizon he knew that he was leaving a part of himself there, a little bit of joy that had made his life brighter had gone from his life forever.


End file.
